Wandering Stars
by herewegocomic
Summary: A lonely nomad has seen the world. He just wishes there was someone else there to see it with him. Basically one version on how Wander and Sylvia first met.


One sound pierced the busy sounds of the street.

It was a small, plucky tune that came from a street corner. There, a small orange creature sat, caressing a banjo and gently playing the strings. Next to him sat an up-turned hat, almost his size. The occasional passerby would drop a galactic coin into the hat, even though there was no sign asking for money. That's not what he wanted. He loved to keep the hat around, for it's wide brim shielded him from sun rays. It also doubled as a sleeping bag. And he also loved it, because he could pull it over his head to protect him from looking up into judging eyes. Despite his positive outlook on life, he didn't want to admit to himself that he would occasionally feel scared. It would be nice if someone were there by his side on his travels to different planets.

The lonely nomad truly wished for a companion.

And on that day, on that planet, two wandering stars collided.

A pair of blue feet appeared, the same color of his shoes. Isn't that special, thought Wander. He continued to strum, waiting for the alien to pass, drop a coin, something. But she just stayed there, watching.

After a few minutes, he saw something else.

A hand reaching out.

Wander stopped playing, rested the banjo next to him, and then froze. He wasn't sure how to react. No one had done that since as long as he could remember, and he didn't know what to do.

He looked up.

It was a zbornak. She smiled at him.

"Come on buddy, it's about time you got up from there. Don't you want to see the world?"

Wander nodded slowly.

"Well then, let's get moving, I don't have all day." She took his hand without asking.

Wander was shocked by the forward approach, but he was sure that this might be a new opportunity. He stood up, took the banjo and hat, and she coaxed him to walk along with her.

"So, what's your name? I'm Sylvia."

He plucked up the courage to reply. "I'm Wander, Ms. Sylvia. Nice to meet you."

"You know, you look like a nature lover. Let me show you a really cool place, you're going to love it. It's pretty far though, so I hope you're a fast walker."

Wander was used to quite a sedentary lifestyle, so he found it hard to compete with her pace, and after a while, he started feeling tired.

Wander plopped down in the soft green grass, too exhausted to go any farther.

Sylvia glanced back. "Hey, Wander, you okay?"

Wander didn't reply, and Sylvia rushed over. He sat up and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm too tired to go."

Sylvia tapped her chin. "We're almost there, so how about you sit on my back?"

"Really?"

"Yep. Let me help you up."

Wander sat on the zbornak's back, held her long neck and off they went. It was quite pleasant as they strolled in silence along the forest landscape, watching the ornately shaped trees with the round magenta leaves falling on the forest floor. The zbornak had soft fur and he found himself getting tired.

Wander fell asleep on Sylvia's back, and some time later, they both reached a clearing.

"Wake up buddy, we're here."

Wander opened his eyes groggily, slipped off Sylvia's back, and landed in the grass. It jolted him awake, and there he saw the most beautiful thing he had seen in all of his travels.

They were in a small clearing. It was night, and there was a perfect view of the glowing blue sky with the planet's three small moons and many bright stars dotting it. There were small fireflies landing on the round leaves of the several fronds and orangey flowers surrounding them.

It was beyond describable. Sylvia glanced down at the small orange alien as he scrambled to his feet, his mouth agape.

"See? I knew you'd like it."

"Like it? Sylvia, I love it!" he squealed. "This is more amazing than anything I've seen in my travels!"

"So you're a nomad, huh?"

"Yes"

"Must be pretty fun to see new worlds all the time."

"Well…I think it would be more fun if you come along, Sylvia."

Sylvia's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"We could see the universe together…if you wanted to."

"Really?"

"I promise I will stay by your side from now until forever."

"All right, me too."

Wander smiled up at her, wider than he ever had before. To Sylvia's surprise, he lunged forward and gave her a hug.

"Thank you Syl, I've been waiting to hear that for eons."

Sylvia smiled warmly and returned the hug. "Me too."


End file.
